Second half goals give Horizon Hawks soccer the edge

Adam Hothersall
Special to Colorado Community Media

Posted 9/18/19

Early on against rival Mountain Range (1-3), Horizon soccer (3-1) looked dead in the water in their opening conference contest of the season. Struggling to find a rhythm in the first half after being …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Username

Password

Log in

Don't have an ID?

Print subscribers

If you're a print subscriber, but do not yet have an online account, click here to create one.

Our print publications are advertiser supported. For those wishing to access our content online, we have implemented a small charge so we may continue to provide our valued readers and community with unique, high quality local content. Thank you for supporting your local newspaper.

Early on against rival Mountain Range (1-3), Horizon soccer (3-1) looked dead in the water in their opening conference contest of the season. Struggling to find a rhythm in the first half after being out-shot 6-1, a 1-0 deficit looked to be a blessing in disguise after the first-half effort of the Mustangs. The lone score came from senior Kaloyan Barov with 29:08 remaining in the first frame.

To start the second, more of the same for Mountain Range, dominating play at all levels. Extending their lead less than three minutes into the second frame, senior John Colvin put a ball into the back of the net.

However, two minutes later, Horizon got on the board and never looked back.

It started on a free-kick score from junior Antonio Lamura who curved a ball into the net with traffic blocking the vision of the MR goaltender. Ten minutes later, we had a tie ballgame as senior Aaron Ramirez recorded the assist on the header by Lamura. Riding this wave of momentum, the Hawks collected another fantastic opportunity in the box after junior Mateo Casados drew the foul and earned a penalty kick for his team. Stepping up and drilling the shot in the bottom left corner, senior captain Gustavo Martinez gave his squad their first advantage.

“The resiliency is amazing, we have been doing a great job,” Horizon coach Bryan Johnston said after the game. “The last two games we have done that where we have dug a little bit of a hole early, but we have been able to pull out wins in the second half. Truly, I’m really concerned about the start, and we have to start better. We can’t dig holes in conference (play) and think we are going to do anything with it. We have some good teams coming up where if you dig a hole like that, they are going to not let you back in. That’s definitely the focal point we take from today.”

Adding an insurance goal with 8:05 remaining on his second pretty free-kick strike, Ramirez shined throughout the afternoon. Giving Horizon and this offense a distinct advantage on stoppage of play outside of the goalie box, Johnston understands the weapon he has on the back-end of his attack.

“He’s one of our seniors and the senior leadership itself is a huge quality. Also, the performance of his play speaks volumes for itself. He’s able to do a lot with the ball and set-piece-wise, he can set in a great ball.”

Winning their third-straight, the Hawks have piled in 13 goals in that timeframe despite a couple of slow starts. Johnston would like his team to get off to better beginnings, but the sign of a good team isn’t necessarily how you start, but how you finish.

“It shows a lot of heart, and it shows a little bit of that intestinal fortitude where you just have that drive and desire to do better and stay with it. It’s a great sign, and I hope to keep riding it a little bit, but like I said, next week we go to Broomfield so you can’t dig a hole against them.”

“We are disgusted by the behavior of the officers in Minnesota,” Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock told members of the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. “Those were bad cops, and if they work for any sheriff in this room they would have been fired just the same.”